The once popular French (Aubergier's, Affium - 14-23 p. c. of morphine) and Bulgarian (8-20 p. c. of morphine) are practically out of commerce. Opium has been introduced into Algeria and Mozambique (African) for Chinese trade, Bulgaria, Australia, New England, this latter being ruled from trade owing to excessive adulteration, but instead there has been manufactured in our country a "pudding" - so-called Boston opium, of high grade appearance but with admixtures reducing it so as just to come within the U. S. P. limit. Plants thrive in Europe and our Southern States (Virginia, S. Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee - hampered mainly by cost of labor), where during the Civil War much opium of high narcotic power was produced under cultivation, being planted in September and collected in May. Factitious opium is a blackish aqueous extract of the plant - nearly odorless and tasteless. London is the distributing point, as the English control its production and levy a tax upon its sale for the development of India, etc. Our entrepots are New York and San Francisco.

Constituents. - Morphine (1816) 2.5-15-22.8 p. c., Narcotine (1803-1817) 1.3-10 p. c., Codeine (1832) .2-7 p. c, Narceine (1832) .02-.1-.7 p. c., Pseudomorphine (1835) .2 p. c., Thebaine (1835) .15-1 p. c., Papaverine (1848) 1 p. c, and 12 other alkaloids, all combined with either sulphuric or meconic acid, 4 p. c.; derivatives - apomor-phine, apocodeine, etc.; also contains glucose, mucilage, pectin, caoutchouc, wax, fat, resin, coloring and odorous principles, lactic acid (1.25 p. c), meconin, C10H10O4, meconoiosin, C8H10O2, extractive, minerals 6 p. c., ash 6 p. c.

Morphina, Morphine, C17H19NO3 + H2O, official. - (Syn., Morphia, Morphinum; Fr. Morphine; Ger. Morphinum, Morphin.) This, the first alkaloid known, is obtained by exhausting opium with water, concentrating, filtering, adding alcohol, ammonia water, setting aside to crystallize, dissolving crystals in hot alcohol, treating with animal charcoal, crystallizing; or may treat concentrated filtered infusion with calcium chloride, evaporate filtrate, when morphine and codeine crystallize out, narcotine, etc., remaining in mother-liquors; occurs in colorless, or white shining rhombic prisms, or fine needles, or crystalline powder, odorless, bitter, permanent, soluble in water (3340), boiling water (1075), alcohol (210), boiling alcohol (98), chloroform (1220), ether (6250), lime water (100); insoluble in benzene; aqueous solution alkaline; forms numerous salts (acetate, hydrochloride, sulphate, etc.). Tests: 1. Add to .05 Gm. sulphuric acid 1 Ml. (Cc.) - no color, reddish, yellowish; on heating changes to brown. 2. With sulphuric acid containing .005 Gm. of selenous acid in each Ml. (Cc.) - blue color, changing to green, brown (codeine yields green color, changing to blue, grass-green; narcotine - green color, changing to brown, cherry-red); with sulphuric acid containing .005 Gm. of molybdic acid in each Ml. (Cc.) - purple color, changing to blue; with sulphuric acid containing 1 drop of formaldehyde solution in each Ml. (Cc.) - intense purple color. 3. With nitric acid - orange-red, fading to yellow; with a few drops of ferric chloride T. S. - blue color, destroyed by acids, alcohol, heating; incinerate .5 Gm. - ash non-weighable. Impurities: Codeine, ammonium salts, foreign alkaloids, meconic acid, meconates, moisture. Should be kept dark, in well-closed containers. Dose, gr. 1/8-1/4 (.008-.016 Gm.).

Morphinae Hydrochloridum, Morphine Hydrochloride, C17H19-NO3.HCl + 3H2O, official - (Syn., Morph. Hydrochl., Morphine Chloride, Morphinae Hydrochloras, Morphinae Murias; Fr. Chlor-hydrate de Morphine; Ger. Morphinum hydrochloricum, Morphin-hydrochlorid, Salzsaures Morphin.) Obtained by mixing morphine with boiling distilled water, adding diluted hydrochloric acid until dissolved and neutral, concentrating until crystals appear; occurs in white, silky, glistening needles, cubical masses, or as a white, crystalline powder, odorless, bitter, permanent, soluble in water (17.5), boiling water (.5), alcohol (52), hot alcohol (46), glycerin; insoluble in chloroform, ether; aqueous solution neutral, slightly acid. Test: 1. Aqueous solution + silver nitrate T. S. - white precipitate, insoluble in nitric acid. Impurities: Apomorphine, moisture, etc. Should be kept dark, in well-closed containers. Dose, gr. 1/8-1/4 (.008-.016 Gm.).

Morphinae Sulphas, Morphine Sulphate, (C17H19NO3)2 + 5H2O, official. -(Syn., Morph. Sulph., Morphise Sulphas, Sulphas (Sulfas) Morphicus; Fr. Sulfate de Morphine; Ger. Morphinum sulfuricum, Morphinsulfat, Sehwefelsaures Morphin.) Obtained by mixing morphine (1) with boiling water (2), adding diluted sulphuric acid until dissolved and neutral, setting aside to crystallize; occurs in white, feathery, acicular, silky crystals, or in cubical masses, odorless, bitter, permanent, soluble in water (15.5), hot water (.7), alcohol (565), hot alcohol (240); insoluble in chloroform, ether; aqueous solution (1 in 20) neutral, slightly acid. Test: 1. Aqueous solution + barium chloride T. S. - white precipitate, insoluble in hydrochloric acid. Impurities: Moisture, etc. Should be kept dark, in well-closed containers. Dose, gr. 1/8-1/4 (.008-.016 Gm.).

AEthylmorphinae Hydrochloridum, Ethyllmorphine Hydrochloride, C17H18NO3C2H5HCl + 2H2O, official - (Syn., AEthylmorph. Hydrochl., Ethylmorphine Chloride, Dionin; Fr. Chlorhydrate d'ethylmorphine; Ger. Salzsaure Morphinaethylaether). This hydrochloride of an alkaloid prepared from morphine by ethylation is obtained by the action of ethyl iodide on an alkaline solution of morphine, thereby forming ethylmorphine (codethyline), neutralizing the new base with hydrochloric acid. It is a white, yellowish, odorless, microcrystalline powder, soluble in water (8), alcohol (22), slightly in ether, chloroform; aqueous solution neutral; melts at 123° C. (254° F.) with decomposition. Tests: 1. Dissolve .01 Gm. in 10 Ml. (Cc.) of sulphuric acid, + a drop of ferric chloride T. S., warm - green, then deep violet-blue, turning deep red with nitric acid. 2. Aqueous solution + silver nitrate T. S. -white precipitate, insoluble in nitric acid. 3. Incinerate .2 Gm. - ash non-weighable. Impurities: Ammonium compounds, morphine, etc. Produces no constipation, nausea, lassitude, tolerance, otherwise similar to morphine. Dose, gr. 1/4-1/2 (.016-.03 Gm.), tablet, suppository; externally 10-20 p. c. solutions.